Amelanchier lamarckii F.G. Schroed.
Juneberry, serviceberry, shadbush
Juneberry is native to eastern North America. It prefers wet sites. Botanists aren’t sure whether this species is natural (A. lamarckii); an old cultivar (A. canadensis ‘Lamarckii’); a naturally occurring hybrid that comes from seed (A. × lamarckii); a natural hybrid of A. canadensis × A. laevis; or maybe A. arborea × A. laevis; or even the same as A. × grandiflora. I’m glad it isn’t my job to sort this out.
Plants: A deciduous shrub or modest tree, 1½–26′ (50–800 cm) in height and one to many stems. Young stems and leaves are silky-haired.
Leaves: Alternate, serrated, unlobed, ovate to ovate-oblong, ⅜–2 ⨉ ⅝–1″ (1–5.5 ⨉ 1.8–2.8 cm) in size. Leaf undersides are finely hairy. Leaf stalks (petioles) are ¼–½″ (8–15 mm) long.
Flowers: The flowers, which appear in early spring, are white, slightly scented, occurring in racemes of up to 20 flowers, 1½–2″ (4–6 cm) long. Each flower has five white petals ¼–⅜ ⨉ 1/16″ (7.6–11 ⨉ 2.4 mm) in size.
Fruits: The berries are ¼–⅜″ (7–10 mm) around, and dark red, turning dark purple. They ripen in June, hence the name “juneberry.” They are pomes, the same type of fruit as apples and pears
Habitats: Prefers moist, well-drained loams.
Edibility: Fruits taste somewhat like apples or, according to one account, “nutty blueberries.” They are used to make pies and jams, and were used by Native Americans as part of pemmican.
 |
Similar species. |
Online References:
4/15/2010 · Tom and Susan’s, Pepperell, Massachusetts · ≈ 4½ × 3″ (11 × 7.9 cm) 
4/30/2013 · Tom and Susan’s, Pepperell, Massachusetts · ≈ 2 × 2″ (5.2 × 5.1 cm) 
4/15/2010 · Tom and Susan’s, Pepperell, Massachusetts · ≈ 4½ × 3″ (11 × 7.9 cm) 
4/30/2013 · Tom and Susan’s, Pepperell, Massachusetts · ≈ 4 × 5″ (10 × 13 cm) 
5/5/2007 · Tom and Susan’s, Pepperell, Massachusetts 
| Kingdom | Plantae | Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae (from Stearn's Botanical Latin) |
| Subkingdom | Tracheobionta | Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients |
| Division | Magnoliophyta | Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms |
| Class | Magnoliopsida | Dicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves |
| Subclass | Rosidae | Roses, legumes, proteas, dogwoods, hydrangeas, mistletoes, euphorbias, grapes, many more |
| Order | Rosales | Rose family and eight others |
| Family | Rosaceae | Includes apples, apricots, plums, cherries, peaches, pears, raspberries, strawberries, almonds, roses, meadowsweets, photinias, firethorns, rowans, and hawthorns; many others |
| Genus | Amelanchier | Shadbush |
| Species | lamarckii | Honors Jean Baptiste Antoine Monet de Lamarck, 18th century French naturalist |
Amelanchier lamarckii description by Thomas H. Kent, not updated.
© FloraFinder.org. All rights reserved.